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Colorado Fuel & Iron

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The Colorado Fuel and Iron Company (CF&I) was a coal and steel company based in Denver and Pueblo. Most of its coal mines were located in southern Colorado. Its only steel mill was located in Pueblo. The firm came into existence as a result of a merger between the Colorado Coal and Iron Company and the Colorado Fuel Company in 1892. By 1910 it employed approximately 15,000 people, or about one-tenth of the entire Colorado workforce. During the 1920s it was the largest industrial corporation in the state.

CF&I also pioneered welfare capitalism—a strategy in which a company provides support in all aspects of employees’ lives in order to improve morale and loyalty. In 1901 it created a “Sociological Department,” an umbrella administrative organization for many management-sponsored programs such as schools and beautification efforts for mining towns, clubhouses for workers, a company hospital, and new housing. A glossy magazine, Camp & Plant, was sent all around the country to highlight these activities. This publication contributed to the spread of welfare capitalism to other industries and regions. Management ramped down the Sociological Department’s programs during the 1908 recession, thinking them unnecessary. This led to the most important labor dispute in the company’s history.

CF&I was the main opponent of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) during the union’s efforts to organize the Colorado coalfields in the early twentieth century. As the largest mining firm in the state, CF&I led the entire western coal industry during two major strikes in 1903–4 and 1913–14. Its staunch opposition in both disputes originated from the company’s primary stockholders and owners, the Rockefeller family of Standard Oil fame. During the bloody 1913–14 strike, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., who ran the family’s interests for his retired father, publicly agreed with the notion that keeping unions out of CF&I was worth it even “if it costs all your property and kills all your employees.” This attitude directly resulted in the infamous Ludlow Massacre in which at least nineteen people, including women and children, were killed.

In response to bad publicity from the Ludlow Massacre, Rockefeller began to backpedal from his staunch opposition to worker organization, creating what came to be known as the Rockefeller Plan. The Rockefeller Plan was an employee representation plan designed to give CF&I miners and steelworkers enough say over the terms and conditions of their employment so that they would not join a union or strike to gain union recognition. The results of the plan were mixed. Many workers, especially skilled ones, appreciated the plan both for the opportunity it gave them to voice their complaints and as a vehicle for the delivery of the company’s renewed efforts at welfare capitalism. However, less-skilled workers, particularly the Mexican and Mexican American workers who joined the company’s ranks, especially after World War I, did not have enough of a stake in the company to participate in the plan. As a result, CF&I still faced major strikes in 1919, 1927, and 1933, when the UMWA finally organized the firm’s miners. The plan continued on in the steel mill until 1942, when it was invalidated by the National War Labor Board under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 as an illegal “company union.”

10th Grade

Formed in 1892, the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company (CF&I) was a coal and steel company based in Denver and Pueblo. Most of its coal mines were located in southern Colorado. Its only steel mill was located in Pueblo. By 1910 it employed approximately 15,000 people, or about one-tenth of the entire Colorado workforce. During the 1920s, it was the largest industrial corporation in the state.

CF&I also pioneered welfare capitalism, a strategy in which a company provides support in all aspects of employees’ lives in order to improve morale and loyalty. A glossy magazine, Camp & Plant, was sent all around the country to highlight CF&I activities. This publication contributed to the spread of welfare capitalism to other industries and regions. During the 1908 recession, CF&I management halted many of these activities, thinking them unnecessary. This led to the most important labor dispute in the company’s history.

CF&I was the main opponent of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). CF&I led the entire western coal industry against the union during two major strikes in 1903–4 and 1913–14. Its opposition in both strikes came from the company’s owners, the Rockefeller family of Standard Oil fame. During the bloody strike of 1913–14, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., publicly agreed with the idea that keeping unions out of CF&I was worth it, even “if it costs all your property and kills all your employees.” This attitude led to the Ludlow Massacre, in which Colorado National Guardsmen fired on striking coal miners in southern Colorado. Nineteen people, including more than a dozen women and children, were killed.

Because of bad publicity from the Ludlow Massacre, Rockefeller began to retreat from his opposition to worker organization. He created what came to be known as the Rockefeller Plan, which was designed to give CF&I miners and steelworkers enough control over their employment so that they would not join a union. The results of the plan were mixed. CF&I still faced major strikes in 1919, 1927, and 1933. At that time the UMWA finally organized the firm’s miners. The Rockefeller plan continued at the steel mill until 1942. It was overturned by the National War Labor Board as an illegal “company union.”

8th Grade

In 1892 the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company (CF&I) was a coal and steel company based in Denver and Pueblo. Most of its coal mines were located in southern Colorado. Its only steel mill was located in Pueblo. By 1910 it employed about one-tenth of the entire Colorado workforce.

CF&I also pioneered “welfare capitalism,” a strategy in which a company supports all aspects of employees’ lives to improve morale and loyalty. During the 1908 recession, CF&I management halted many of these activities, thinking them unnecessary. This led to the most important labor dispute in the company’s history in 1913–14.

CF&I was the main opponent of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), a union that lobbied for better pay and working conditions for mine workers. The Rockefeller family, of Standard Oil fame, owned CF&I during the bloody strikes of 1913–14. Owner John D. Rockefeller, Jr. stated publicly that unions should be kept out of CF&I. This attitude led to the Ludlow Massacre, a battle between striking coal miners and the Colorado National Guard. At least nineteen people, including more than a dozen women and children, died in the massacre.

Because of bad publicity from the Ludlow Massacre, Rockefeller created what came to be known as the Rockefeller Plan. It was designed to give CF&I miners and steelworkers enough control over their employment so that they would not join a union. CF&I still faced major strikes in 1919, 1927, and 1933. At that time the UMWA finally organized the firm’s miners. The Rockefeller plan continued at the steel mill until 1942, when it was overturned by the National War Labor Board as an illegal “company union.”

CF&I declared bankruptcy in 1990. Its steel mill still stands in Pueblo today.

4th Grade

In 1892 Colorado Fuel & Iron Company (CF&I) was formed. It was based in Denver and Pueblo. Its coal mines were mostly found in southern Colorado. Its only steel mill was built in Pueblo. In 1910 about one-tenth of Colorado workers were working for CF&I. By 1920 CF&I was the largest industrial corporation in the state.

There was a reason why CF&I grew to be so large. A new idea called “welfare capitalism” began at CF&I in 1901.This idea was very new in Colorado at that time. It meant that a company gave workers what they needed to live day-to-day. New housing was built for the workers. CF&I also built a hospital, schools, and clubhouses. It was important to make the mining towns look beautiful. A magazine, Camp & Plant, had pictures and articles to show the good things happening at CF&I.

Then the recession of 1908 came. The company cut back on some of these basic supports. The workers were not happy with the new changes. CF&I workers were not allowed to belong to an organized labor union. At that time the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) was a well-known labor union. By 1913–14, the workers grew very frustrated and went on strike. The Colorado National Guard was sent to stop it. There was a fight between the two groups. Members of the National Guard killed striking miners and set a camp on fire. The event was called the Ludlow Massacre.

The owners of CF&I lived in New York and not in Colorado. They heard about the Ludlow Massacre and knew a different plan was needed. Not all workers liked the new plan. There were more strikes in 1919, 1927, and 1933. This was when the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) finally organized the Company’s miners.